The summer term of Year 8 marks the start of the curriculum personalisation process; this is a very important milestone in your child’s educational life. It is an exciting time where students begin to take some control of their learning and specialise in the areas that they select.

It is imperative that students have the right guidance and support to enable them to make informed decisions. Parents and students are invited to an information evening and students participate in taster lessons before making their choices. These subject choices will shape their journey over the next few years when applying for apprenticeships, further education, university and beyond.

At this point in Year 8, students will be able to make choices about the ‘wider’ subjects they take forward. In Year 9 all students will follow a core curriculum of: English, Mathematics, Science, History, Geography, French, German, Computing, PE, PSHE and RE.

Students will choose three subjects (to complement their core subjects) based on their interests, abilities and future studies/career aspirations.

During the Summer term, Year 9 students embark on the process of choosing ​their options for Year Ten. At the end of Year Eight students each chose three option ​subjects to study in Year Nine. When they move from Year Nine into Year Ten, they will be able to choose four subjects (from the subjects they have been studying in Year 9) to take forward into the last two years of study towards their final qualifications. ​

​​At Bishop Perowne, students follow the EBacc (English Baccalaureate). This is a set of subjects which are nationally recognised as being academically challenging. These subjects are: English Language, English Literature, Mathematics, Science, Humanities (History or Geography) and Languages (French or German). Students who achieve good passes at GCSE in all their EBacc subjects will be at an advantage when applying for college and university places and, eventually, jobs. ​

​From Year 10, students will be completing: GCSEs, BTECs and Cambridge Nationals. GCSEs are qualifications where the full range of grades (from 9 to 1) are achievable. Other courses are equivalent to GCSEs but are vocational courses and may have a different grading structure e.g. Pass, Merit, Distinction. This means they often have more of a skills/employment focus. These courses are likely to have internally assessed coursework (NEAs) with deadlines throughout Year 10 and Year 11.